Lyces fluonia (Druce) Miller, James S, 2009

Miller, James S, 2009, Generic Revision Of The Dioptinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Notodontidae) Part 2: Josiini, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2009 (321), pp. 675-1022 : 774-775

Lyces fluonia (Druce) , new combination Plate 30

Scea fluonia Druce, 1885b: 525 , pl. 32, fig. 12. TYPE LOCALITY: Ecuador, Chiguinda. TYPE: Syntype ³, leg. C. Buckely

(BMNH).

DISCUSSION: The oblique yellow FW marking of L. fluonia is distinctive. Although this species has historically been considered a close relative of L. banana because of roughly similar wing patterns ( Hering, 1925), numerous male genital differences suggest that the two belong in separate species groups within Lyces . In an earlier paper using a relatively small set of josiines, but employing larval as well as adult morphology ( Miller, 1996), I suggested that fluonia belongs in a clade with cruciata, gopala , and striata . Here, all these taxa are placed together in the Patula Group of Lyces . A species-level analysis for Lyces would be required to more precisely determine the position of L. fluonia . Such an analysis might pinpoint the evolutionary transition that gave rise to its anomalous wing pattern.

Rex Friesen (USDA) reared L. fluonia on Passiflora mollissima in Ecuador (table 6). Even though this species is not particularly well represented in museum collections, it is apparently quite common in the habitats where it occurs (R. Friesen, personal commun.). The AMNH holdings contain a recently collected series (8 ³³, 7 ♀♀).

DISTRIBUTION: Ecuador (AMNH, BMNH, CMNH, USNM, ZMH); Peru (BMNH, MUSM, OUMNH).

DISSECTED: ³, Ecuador, Carchi, Hwy between Mira-El Angel , 8300 ft, 8 Jun 1992, leg, R. D. Friesen, ex larva on Passiflora mollissima, AMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-714 ) ; ³, Peru, Amazonas, Chachapoyas , 1889, leg. M. de Mathan, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-309 ) ; ♀, Ecuador, Ibarra , May 1897, leg. Rosenberg, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-310 ) .